Feathered Friend
by SilverWolf7
Summary: First story of the Lucifer's Flock series. When Lucifer is given his wings back by God, he has no idea what to do with them when they come back featherless except put up with the irritation when the feathers start growing in. Linda tells him to look for someone to help him. He finds two someone's instead.
1. Linda's Part

This is part one of an ongoing series I am writing now about Lucifer and his friendships with the people he knows. This one is where it all starts, with Dan and Ella on advice from Linda.

* * *

Chapter One - Linda's Part

Of course Doctor Linda would spot his irritability from a mile away, as she knew him a bit too well. That and his inability to sit still for more than a few minutes.

She sighed loudly, gave him a long, searching stare and then asked what had been on her mind since he had first walked into the room. "Alright, I'll bite. What's with the attitude?"

His jaw clenched, before he managed to unlock it enough to speak. "Nothing is wrong. I'm just irritated, that's all."

She shook her head. "No, there is definitely something going on here. What is it?"

He shifted and didn't give into the feeling to rub himself against the couch back to look for relief. "I'm not telling you."

"Why not?"

He glared at her, leaning forward and hunching his shoulders, but knowing it wouldn't help. "It's personal. And embarrassing. And bloody ugly too. Ugh."

He should have kept his mouth shut. Now she knew something was truly up and it wasn't just his mood. "I promise not to laugh."

He glared at her. "Laughing isn't the reaction I'd expect in my current state. Disgust is more like it."

She leaned back in her chair and stared and he knew she wouldn't drop it. He threw his hands up in the air. "Fine! I'll tell you. Dear old Dad thought it would be funny to give me back my wings."

Linda's eyes lit up at that. "You have your wings back? Can I see?"

He grimaced. "Yes and trust me, you don't want to see them."

"Why not?"

He stared at her, and could feel the blood rushing to his face in embarrassment. "Uh...it's just. He didn't give them back whole..."

Linda frowned at that. "What do you mean whole?"

"I mean he gave me back my wings but left a few things out..."

She stared blankly at him. "How do you leave things out of wings?"

He buried his head in his hands and groaned. "He decided to give me back my wings without the feathers, alright. Have you ever seen a plucked chicken? Yeah."

"Oh! So your wings are, what, naked?"

He stared at her. "I would not call their current state naked. Let's just say I went from plucked chicken to pin cushion. It hurts, I'm sore and itchy and it won't stop until the feathers have all fully grown in."

She kept up the blank stare and he shifted again, this time from wondering what it was she was thinking.

"Pin cushion?"

He blinked and it came to his attention that a psychiatrist who doesn't own a pet bird might not know anything about this type of problem. "Oh, yes. It's just the new feathers growing in. Makes me feel like a bloody fledgling, but at least they're growing in all together. This won't take as long as a moult because of that. Which is good. Wait...bloody hell, now I'm going to have to go through _that_ again. Wings are not worth it..."

"Can I see?" she asked again, and this time it had nothing to do with her fascination with seeing him with wings and everything to do with her own curiosity in what he meant. Yeah, she really knew nothing about pin feathers.

He mulled it about, but shrugged. "Okay, but it isn't pretty."

He let his wings be seen by people on this plane of existence instead of the one he normally kept them in and she gasped. "Oh wow, that looks really, really uncomfortable."

He turned his head and stretched one of his wings out to stare at it. "It is that. I can't stand to be touched right now, so no touching. Should be good in a week, maybe two if it goes slowly. My wings are just a tiny bit bigger than a bird."

"A tiny bit...how much bigger will they be when the feathers grow in?"

He grinned. "A lot bigger. Not even the tip of a feather poking through yet. I look like an echidna. This is taking forever. Still, these are called pin feathers for a reason. And this is where the attitude comes from. It's normal, so nothing is wrong. It's just...really sore and itchy and I can't scratch because they might break and that's the last thing I want right now."

She leaned forward and stared at them. The quills slightly moved in his irritation. "Oh, wow. Is there anything that could help ease the itching?"

He shrugged. "A shower. Unfortunately, showers aren't exactly made for wings, and it's not like I am in a position to go outside and be hosed down for a bit of relief. It will pass, doctor. I'm fine."

She nodded, still staring. With a sigh, he pulled them both closer to his body and put them away where he normally kept them. Linda's face fell at that, but her fascination in seeing them like they are grated on his nerves. He also knew right then that there was no use continuing on with this session. It would all be about wings and he wasn't really in the mood to talk about them.

He stood up. "I'll just come back next week, shall I? Nothing's going to be done today."

Linda nodded, before holding up a hand. "Wait, before you go, just a suggestion? Find someone you know to help. I know I can't. So just...ask around?"

He frowned, no t knowing if any of the people he knew well enough to trust with this would be up for it. "I'll ask, but it's unlikely I'll find anyone."

Linda nodded at him, but he was free to go now. He decided as the itching made him want to rub against the door, that maybe she did have a point with at least asking others for help.

Too bad he had only three people to ask...


	2. Chloe and Dan

Chapter Two - Chloe and Dan

Chloe was working on paperwork until another case came in for them to take, which suited him just fine given his current mood. His inability to sit still for longer than two seconds without shifting also seemed to be a problem, given Chloe's looks of annoyance every time he moved.

Sighing loudly, she put her hands either side of her keyboard. "You know, if you're that bored, you can leave. You don't have to be here for this part. In fact, you usually make yourself scarce when it comes to the whole paperwork side of things. Why are you here?"

He shifted again and winced. "Umm, I have a bit of a personal problem. And you might be able to help with it..."

Her eyes got wide at that. "A...personal problem?"

He nodded. "Yes. Remember when we went to that auction to get my wings? Well, I...got them back."

She held up and hand and squinted at him in confusion. "Wait. I thought, after, you said you destroyed the real ones. That you did track down and get them and...I don't understand."

He grinned. "Oh, yes, I did. This is a brand new set. Do you have any idea how bloody annoying growing in new feathers is? It's a nightmare. It itches and I can't scratch. My whole back feels like its on fire right now and it is really, really irritating. And my poor new wings feel like they are being constantly jabbed by miniature spears. The problem is that like birds, angels flock. We groom each other, because it's hard as hell with a human shaped body to actually reach all the feathers. And pin feathers are really, really tricky even with help."

Chloe stared at him like he had gone nuts. "Have you talked to Linda about this? Seems more her problem than mine..."

He frowned in confusion. "Well, yes. She said I should come to the people I know and trust to help with them. She doesn't know anything about how to help. She did say that they look irritated though."

"Wait, she actually told you to come to me to help you with feathers for wings? And you showed them to her?"

"Yes. How else would she give advice if she doesn't know the problem?"

She shook her head. "Lucifer...I know nothing about wings. Real, fake or imaginary ones. Sorry."

He leaned back in the chair he was sitting on and sighed. "Damn. Okay, well, thanks anyway. Is Dan in? Or Ella?"

She smiled at him when he mentioned Dan's name. "You know, it'd do both you boys good to spend time together away from the precinct. I have no idea about Ella, but Dan's around somewhere. He'd probably know more about wings. Heard he got a pet parakeet not too long ago for company."

Lucifer blinked at that. Parakeets were tiny compared to him, but hey, it was better than no help at all. It was very unlikely though that Dan had experienced anything to do with pin feathers yet, as it wasn't exactly moulting season.

He nodded. "Okay. I'll go find him and ask if he can help."

He got up off the seat, making sure to scrape his back along the back as he got up in an attempt to stop the itching. It didn't work. He had to physically make himself stop rubbing against the dividing wall of Chloe's desk and the rest of the precinct on the way out, because his ability to resist was fraying to the point of nonexistent.

"What are you doing?" Chloe asked, amusement in her voice.

He scowled. "I told you, I'm itchy. This is driving me mad. I need a shower and a proper bloody grooming is what I need."

"Looks like you need calamine lotion."

He glared at her. "Oh shut up. You're no help anyway, you've already said that. I need to go before I rub my back raw..."

She waved him away with a grin still on her face, already going back to her computer screen, pen held in one hand for written work, other hand flying over the keyboard. He left her to it, and scoped out Dan's desk.

An unopened pudding was sitting there and he almost went for it. Almost. And then he had the sense to look around him and spotted Dan a few desks away staring at him. He grinned widely and waved, before sticking his hands in his pockets. He had promised to never get caught again.

He did sit in Dan's seat though it made for a rather awkward rubbing post, but it was at least there...

He only had to wait ten minutes with the snack temptation in front of him while Dan did whatever it was he was doing. He almost ate it several times.

"Lucifer, what are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "Oh, you know...just wanting to chat. The Detective is doing paperwork and sent me to you, because I was annoying her. And I came to ask a question too. She said you recently got a bird..."

Dan looked annoyed by his existence, but that was normal. "Uh, yeah. He's a Quaker parakeet. Got it from someone illegally holding him. Got to find a good family out of state to keep him, so I'm looking after him for a bit. Why?"

"Have you gotten used to touching it? Grooming? You do groom your bird, right?"

Dan was looking at him like he had gone crazy. "Uh, yeah, around the head and neck. It preens its own feathers fine enough as it is, but it can't reach those. It likes head scratches."

Lucifer hummed in agreement to that. He liked having his hair played with sometimes...but that wasn't the type of fun he wanted with the douche. "So, do you bathe the bird? Like...does it have baths or showers or get its feathers cleaned regularly?"

Dan was beginning to catch on that he had something else to say from the look passing over his face. "Yeah, it has a pool to splash around in to clean its feathers and I also change it daily so it has clean water. Why all the bird questions?"

"Uh...I have need of someone that knows me and knows...well, wings really. But I'll go with any feathers right now. I have a set of wings that are in major need of being washed and as much grooming as possible done to them, but there are...several problems."

Dan actually looked interested in that. "Oh? What are the problems?"

"One, they're big. Two, they're new feathers..."

Yeah, he definitely had Dan's attention now. "What do you mean new feathers?"

"Pin feathers. Were you told about them?"

Dan nodded. "Yeah. A little. Been watching videos on it for when Dusty moults."

Something in Lucifer relaxed at that. Dan was taking this whole bird thing seriously at least. "Well, this is two big wings full of pin feathers."

Dan frowned but nodded. "Blood supply still in there?"

Lucifer nodded. "Yep, and I really want the growth to stay even and all together. I do not want a mess of feathers all over the place in their growth. Thankfully this is a one-time thing. Well, second if you count the first set I had...but let's not go there."

Dan looked at him oddly. "Okay, so...what do you need me for?"

"I need help with the whole grooming thing. I can't do it on my own. I don't want to break any and it's likely to happen...plus I need someone to hold the hose..."

"Hose?"

"I did mention that the wings are big, yes? Trust me, Dan. Just...come to my penthouse tonight and I'll show you what we'll be dealing with. Oh! Do you know if Ella knows anything about birds?"

Dan shrugged. "One of her brothers runs a bird sanctuary, so she probably knows something about birds."

Closing his eyes, Lucifer grinned. "Great! I'll see you tonight then! It's a date with feathers! Wait, you named the bird Dusty?"

Dan glared at him. "He's got a lot of grey on him, shut up!"

Holding his hands up, he grinned. "Fine. Do you know if Ella is in? I want to talk to her about it too. Things will go a heck of a lot quicker with two others. One for each wing. Lovely. Haven't had that since my Fall."

Dan gave him an odd look at that, but he was used to odd looks. As it was, by the end of that night, at least Dan would know the truth, and if he got lucky, so would Ella. He doubted either of them could get Chloe to believe he was the devil. She was proving to be against anything that remotely tied him to being a bad person.

Of course, his frenemy decided then was a good time to pick up the pudding and open it in front of him. Twitching, he got up and stretched, trying his hardest to stretch the pain out of his wings and back. Naturally it didn't work.

It wasn't until Dan had finished with his snack that he got an answer. "Ella should be back from the field in a half hour. You could go wait for her if you want. Or you could go home and I'll talk to her."

He frowned and thought of that one. He shrugged. "Nah, thanks anyway. I'll stay and wait. I haven't got a lot left to do, really. Not at this time of day..."

And with that, Dan nodded and waved him on his way as he went to wait in Ella's lab, where there was at least music to keep his mind occupied.


	3. Ella and Prep

Three - Ella and Prep

Ella reached her office 15 minutes later than the allotted time Dan had said but Lucifer didn't mind.

He should come in here more often. Ella had a back scratcher, or at least something he could use as one. He had it shoved down his shirts to scratch angrily at his back. He could feel his wings trying to join in on the fun, but since they weren't on the same plane as the actual implement being used, it did nothing for them.

Ella took one look at him as soon as she had entered the lab and burst out laughing.

"What?! I'm itchy and this is doing nothing. Beats rubbing myself against the desk."

She shook her head and couldn't seem to get the grin off her face. "You look ridiculous. And don't molest my desk with your back, mister. I've heard you've been doing that. What's up?"

"New feathers. New wings, really. I need help badly..."

Ella nodded. "What happened to Linda?"

He stared. "Chloe asked the same thing. Why do you think this is something she can help with? It's a physical problem, not a mental or emotional one. Dan said you know how to look after birds, which is great. Because I have two wings in major need of a wash and grooming. I can't do it myself..."

Ella looked at him and he could see the wheels in her head turning. "Wait...new wings? What happened to your old ones then?"

He shrugged. "Cut them off when I got to Earth. Some humans stole them earlier this year. Nearly started one Hell of a big mess. Someone put them up on Auction...well, made fake ones and put them up. No one steals from me. So, I burnt them on the beach. Dear old Dad must have thought I was done punishing myself or something and just gave me new ones. Bloody bastard. I cut them off for a reason!"

Ella nodded at him, an amused look on her face. "So, what, you hold the divine on you right now?"

He grinned. "Yes! Not in plain sight, I'd start a riot or worse. But if you wish to see my wings in their sorry state, come to my flat tonight. Dan will be there too. Chloe is, as ever, the sceptic and refuses, but at least you and Dan are going to be helpful."

Ella's smile turned to a frown. "Wait, what?"

"My flat, tonight. I told you, I need help with grooming the bloody things. And I doubt Dad would take kindly to me severing another pair of wings right off my back. So these ones are, unfortunately, going to have to stay."

She nodded slowly, suddenly caught between belief and faith. "Okay. Just..."

"I'll have them already out and on display just for you by the time you arrive. No sudden surprises. Oh! So you know, pin feathers, not pearly whites."

Ella tried to stop the smile from coming back, he could tell she was trying. Too bad she knew enough about birds to take his last statement to its logical conclusion. "I missed your plucked chicken look, then? Shame."

He scowled at her, gave his back a hard scratch, before pulling the clawed instrument out of his shirts and redid the buttons. "Well, until tonight then. You, Dan, me and hopefully relief from this insistent burning itch."

She pulled herself up straighter, and he knew she would be coming. Her faith told her angels were real. Her belief told her to doubt to keep her faith alive. She had faith in him as a person, but believed him a performer. Tonight both her faith and her beliefs would be answered. She wasn't confused like Dan was. She was nervous.

He was just glad that he didn't have his wings fully feathered. They'd probably both be driven mad with a look. This way, they'll be used to them before that could come to pass.

He put the back scratcher down and took off for the car park. Excitement strummed through his body. For the first time since he Fell, he would finally, _finally_ be able to have proper grooming habits.

He hopped into his Corvette and drove back to Lux. He had to prepare everything for tonight.

* * *

His balcony was decked out with everything he would need. Mainly, he had refitted the pipes and attached a hose which included a mist setting. For tonight, the hot tub was going to be turned off, in favour of still water. He had also put to one side a pair of pliers, just in case someone needed to yank a blood feather out if one of the stupid things broke.

He also noticed his back was getting irritated just to be irritating now because he had been scratching at it. He knew it was just the growth of stray pinfeathers between his shoulders. He always had them when he had wings. He'd pluck the bloody things out, but he couldn't reach them.

He did not miss his wings at all. He did miss flying and it was the only thing he looked forward to when his feathers grew out again.

It hit him suddenly that he hadn't flown in millennia.

He let his wings be visible and shook them out a bit. He spread them as far out to the sides as he could, before changing their direction and had them straight out behind him. He moved the things up as high as they could go in the air afterwards. He needed to properly check their manoeuvrability later. He would need to strengthen the muscles, get them used to activity, or they'd atrophy on him.

He remembered the absolute horror show his poor wings were when he came topside 5 years ago. It was one of the reasons he had them cut off. They had been pretty much useless. As soon as he had used them to get to Earth the first thing he did was crash on the beach, unable to physically fly.

Most of his secondaries and his tertials had been too thin and weak, never growing in properly after a moult. His coverts had been growing in all directions. Bad self grooming, trust issues and demon spawn everywhere...he had mainly just kept his wings tucked well out of sight.

He was wondering if he should have anything else out, like maybe a towel, when he heard the ding of the lift. He turned his head, lowering his wings so they were laying as comfortably against his back as he could get them in a relaxed at rest position. The quills dug into his back when he clenched in nervous energy.

Dan without a bird and Ella walked into the penthouse, talking to each other softly. He let out a breath and let his wings loosen, so he could stretch them out.

The chatting stopped. There was a loud thud as something hit the ground and then silence for a few minutes.

"So, wings then?" Ella said and he folded said limbs back up against his back, and turned to face her.

"Yes, like I said. Regardless of rumour, I actually don't lie."

Ella nodded let out a "Huh" before joining Dan on the floor.

Well, this was going to be fun...


	4. Talks

Huh, just realised the other three chapters before this one are the unedited ones. Will need to edit that...

* * *

Talks

Ella was up and aware before Dan was as the shock was a little less for her than it was for him. All Lucifer could do really was hope the man didn't faint on him again once he woke up. Because he realised in short order, he'd have to give The Talk to them both, before they got down to helping him.

There was also the possibility that Dan would flee from him screaming in terror by the time he woke up and that made him sad.

"All those times you said you weren't acting, you really meant it. Huh," Ella stated, sitting on the couch and staring with open adoration at his ugly, pin covered wings. They were nothing to look at right now.

"Of course I meant it. I don't lie." He was repeating himself, but with humans he could never tell if they actually fully heard a sentence or not half the time. He suspected Chloe may actually be hard of hearing with how much she repeats things he said or asks him to repeat himself.

"Huh," Ella repeated back.

Seriously, the whole thing was reminding him of parrots.

As he thought that, Dan shifted and groaned from his prone position across the futon of his lounge. "I think I am going to lie down and never get back up again..." Dan mumbled into the leather, before he shifted to his side so he could stare openly at what made him collapse to begin with.

"Hello Dan! Welcome back to the world of the living."

Dan stared at him, opened his mouth, closed it again, before letting his head fall back to the couch. "Oh, Hell," the human man stated, making Ella snort in amusement.

"Yes Dan. Hell. Is not here, and that is good. Wakey wakey." His wings shifted slightly to compensate for the change in position as he bent down to ruffle Dan's hair.

Dan closed his eyes, before reopening them. "No, not imagining it. You really do have wings."

He stood up straight and spread them out, in a way to prove that, yes, they really do exist and not at all because he was showing them off. "Now imagine how impressive they'll be when the feathers actually grow in."

Ella lifted a hand and he jerked away from her, his wings coming in tight to his back. "Not yet! Far too sensitive. They need to be cleaned first. I actually set up a hose out on the balcony. I cannot stand being touched right now."

"Oooh, ouch. You're that kind of moulter. You have my sympathies, dude."

He grinned at that. "Sympathy for the devil. Good to know!"

Dan moaned. "You really are the devil? But...why?!" he asked.

Lucifer blinked and cocked his head to one side in confusion. "Why what? I have no idea what you're asking? Why am I the devil? Because daddy dearest kicked me out of the house and told me to do this job for him."

Dan shook his head. "No! Why are you here?!"

He perked up at that. "Oh! Got bored, moved to L.A for the food, the sex and the pun. Seriously, where else would I go? Honestly, I just needed a vacation. I liked the place so much, I decided to stay. I love it here. Heaven's boring and Hell's...well, unwanted work. I much prefer punishing people here on Earth than in Hell."

Ella leaned forward her eyes filled with, as odd as it looked to Lucifer, joy. "Why help out at the station?"

He grinned at her. "Miss Lopez, I'm disappointed in you. I am an angel. Angels are hard wired to do their duty. I'm no different. I am the Punisher, it's what I do. I punish souls for their wrong doings. Doesn't matter how I do it or where, just as long as I do. Running the club is fun and was great for a bit of R and R, but as soon as I started chasing down Delilah's murderer, I knew I needed to keep doing it, so I did."

Dan snorted and a smirk crossed over his face. "Yeah, he bugged the hell out of Chloe, followed her around on crime scenes until he was officially sworn in as a civilian consultant."

"And I didn't even get the gig by having sex with the lieutenant! I just...gave her a leg up in a work related way instead."

Ella sat back and shook her head, while Dan rubbed a hand down his face at that. And he was glad to see that his plan had worked. Both of them had a freak out, and while things were still up in the air of what Dan will be like come the next day, right at the moment he seemed fine if a little wary of him. Ella seemed fine, yet again at their first meeting she had stated she saw the devil pretty much as he was.

Ella already accepted him.

He truly hoped Dan got to that stage soon.

"So, wash the wings and then what?' Ella asked peering at where his wings were clinging to his back.

He relaxed slightly, but was itchy and sore and stressed and nervous and... "Uh, I was thinking maybe just to preen them really. Not much else to do."

And it was that which got Dan perked up and interested. It was what he came for. A chance to learn on real feathers how to look after his bird when it went into moult. Well, sort of.

"Do you have preening glands?"

He turned around and lifted his wings up a bit, so the base of them, the part where flesh of his back met with the powerful muscles that worked the wings. "On the base of each wing. Oil based, not powder. The feathers grow in hard, not soft and fluffy. Well, for the most part. And before you ask, no it isn't sexual so get your minds out of the gutter."

Ella snorted at that, humour evident in every move and sound she made. "Dude, you know how weird it is to hear you of all people say that?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Oddly enough this isn't something I joke about. Incest is not something I am interested in. At all. Ewww." He shuddered at the thought.

"What?" Dan asked.

"All angels are related. We're siblings. For us, this isn't something to be done between lovers like it can be in birds."

That seemed to have done something interesting as both of them relaxed a lot more at the mentioning of this being a non sexual act rather than a sexy one for him. Seriously, he did not understand humans sometimes. Still, he took it as a good sign, because Dan was beginning to act more like himself and not some scared little kitten that pretends to have fearsome claws. His wings relaxed against his back, so they weren't hugging his skin. It felt nice to be able to relax with his wings out.

"So! Can we do this or not? Because I am two seconds away from scratching myself red raw and bloody."

Ella smiled widely at him and nodded. "Sure! I'm ready."

Dan reluctantly nodded, staring at the quilled appendages and took a deep breath. "Sure, man. Though it feels weird giving someone a hose bath."

He grinned. "If it helps, the water is warm. I don't take too well to cold."

While Ella jumped readily to her feet and immediately walked towards the doors leading outside, Dan stayed sitting down, taking his time to get up. Thankfully, the man didn't faint on him again.

"You alright, Dan? And why didn't you bring your bird with you?"

Dan sighed, shook his head and got to his feet. "I'll be fine. It just takes a while to get used to. I don't know if I really believe it yet, you know?"

He nodded. "Talk to Doctor Linda. She knows. And she's good with that kind of thing."

Nodding, Dan stretched himself out, before turning towards where Ella was feeling the water temperature outside. "As to why I didn't bring the bird. Bed time. He's in his cage with a blanket thrown over it."

Lucifer blinked at that. "Oh. Well, next time we could do this at your flat."

Dan looked at his wings, looked him in the eyes and an expression in between a mix of amusement and annoyance made its way across his face. "Lucifer, you won't have much room spreading those things out when they get their feathers in."

He shrugged. "Well, until then. I haven't seen your flat yet. Call me curious."

Dan sighed, threw his hands in the air and walked towards Ella.

Lucifer grinned. Yeah, next time, definitely at Detective Douche's place.

He soon followed the human pair outside.


	5. Lucifer's Flock

Lucifer's Flock

The warm water felt like Heaven on his poor wings and he closed his eyes and just enjoyed the sensation of the spray of water over red, itchy skin. He had forgotten how good it could feel to not be in a constant state of irritation.

Dan had the hose in his hands, directing the flow of the water, while Ella watched the movement of his wings.

He asked her what she was doing just watching as soon as he realised only Dan was doing anything and was surprised by her answer.

"Dude, how often do I get to see the range of movement of an angel's wings? Can you show me properly?"

He frowned and shrugged his shoulders. "Sure when they're grown in and more impressive looking. It's a bit useless to do it now."

She nodded happily at his answer. "Sure! Sounds awesome. I'll look forward to that, especially watching you fly."

And that was what made him freeze. "Uh...watch me fly?"

She smiled widely at him. "You can't show a girl a pair of wings and not go all the way, man. You need to show us your fly moves."

Dan laughed at that. "Never thought I'd agree with anything sounding that close to innuendo when it comes to a man, but yeah, you need to show us what that looks like."

And for possibly the first time in his life, Lucifer understood what it meant to feel shy. He looked to the ground, ignoring the spray of water as Dan purposefully went for his pants and head instead of the wings. "Uh...I don't know if I am really ready for flying...I mean, no real feathers right now anyway..."

Dan turned off the hose and walked in front of him, before turning it back on to do the underside of the wings. Which meant the man could see the uneasy look on his face.

"Come on, Lucifer, what's wrong with flying if you have wings?"

He shifted from one foot to the other and spent a few seconds blinking water out of his eyes as Dan sprayed his face with warm water.

"There's nothing wrong with flying if you have wings! It's just...not something I have done in a very, _very_ long time. I don't know if I remember how to fly."

Ella joined Dan at the front of him with a look of sympathy on her face. "Did they break?"

He shook his head. "Not break, no. Not grooming properly for a period of time, my feathers started coming in too thin and weak. I can't see where I'm reaching for my preening glands. Moulting was a nightmare. All I could do was reach what I could and let the others rub against things to get the wax off. My wings just couldn't hold my weight after a few bad moults. Not to mention no longer being aerodynamic."

"Oh, wow, sorry. Okay, we'll stop bugging you about flying," she replied and Dan nodded silently, while hosing down the left wing, which he arched out slightly to catch as much of the water as possible in a particularly itchy spot.

"Yes, thank you. And this, by the way, feels really good."

"You look less red," Dan stated, switching off the hose again but this time placing it back where he picked it up from. "Well, they have now been washed with warm water. What now?"

He grinned widely at them. "Preen them! Just...stimulate the glands, and very, very gently run your fingers down each quill. The tips of feathers may start showing, since they look about ready to start growing out, thankfully."

"I'll show him how it's done, Lucifer. Come on Dan, feather care 101."

And with that said they both disappeared behind him, out of view. He was suddenly paranoid about what they were going to do to him, but he needed this more than anything. He needed proper grooming, not the hack job he'd done to himself while in Hell. And this was probably going to be the first of many days spent like this.

Then a hand was touching his back, brushing against the small pins there, before tracing their way down to his wing joints, and finding out which way was the right way by feel to stimulate his preening glands to secrete. Once they figured that out, a bigger, heavier hand followed the actions of the other, mimicking what was done.

They were using his back as practice, obviously, since he had already stated several times he didn't want broken wing feathers. Ella quietly showed and talked Dan through it on feathers that would much more be what Dan would have to get used to on a bird. On feathers that he didn't mind if they accidentally broke or not. And for once, he was glad they existed there.

His anxiety began to slowly fade as the two of them carefully and calmly did those feathers, keeping a slow and steady pace.

It was almost like they knew he'd spook and try to run if they went any faster. He wondered how they would know that. All he knew was that he wanted to move this over to one of his deck chairs so he could lie down and give them better access to his wings while being comfortable himself, because he was suddenly very aware that this was going to take at least an hour or two if they kept this pace up.

"Um, can we move to the furniture? I don't think my legs will thank me staying upright in one spot for this. And neither will yours for that matter."

They both seemed to find that funny as they giggled behind him, before their hands disappeared.

"Sure," Dan said, going over to one of the chairs and sitting at the end.

"Maybe we should do your undersides first, so you can lie down afterwards. Plus, you'd be able to watch what we're doing before moving to your back. That way you can lie down and relax instead of having to get up halfway through." Ella, it seemed, was full of good ideas and he grinned at her.

"Yes, I think that's a great idea. Let's just get this over with."

He joined Dan on the deck chair and sat himself down, fanning one wing out for them to do so he could watch. And watch he did. He noted that Dan's hands, while bigger and rougher, were trying to be as gentle as possible. He barely pulled the wrong way once he got used to the repetitive movements of grooming and Lucifer felt himself relax fully.

Ella knew what she was doing and showed Dan how to tell if the tip of a feather was ready to grow out or not. By the time they had finished with that one side of a wing, the tips of fluffy white feathers were poking out and the irritation he had been feeling lifted a lot. Now the feathers had room to grow out. He hoped they grew in properly, but there was no way to tell right now.

He soon folded up that wing neatly against his back, a lot more comfortable even with the tickling of new feather growth shifting against his skin. He was feeling gloriously good and soon had the other wing out and the two humans shifted to his other side.

He grinned at the thought of herding sheep that flitted through his mind. At least now that he knew his feathers weren't going to be ripped out for fun, he found his mind drifting to other things, like whether or not they'd both be willing to come over every day to do this for him, or at least every day until the feathers were fully grown.

They seemed to be enjoying it, as both Ella and Dan fell into a steady, smooth rhythm once they got themselves into a pattern of work.

He missed it somehow when they had finished, blinking when a finger poked him in the side.

"Yo, Lucifer, time to turn around," Ella stated and he blinked again.

"Oh. Yes. Think I'm going to lie down. I think I am falling asleep here..."

They laughed at him, and he frowned and tried to figure out what was so funny. He blinked slowly at them again, before remembering that they needed to get to his back now. He moved over the deck chair and lay down on it, stretching out his wings and letting them stay in that position so they could each do one at the same time. It wouldn't be too comfortable, but it would get done quicker with both wings being worked on at the same time. No need to sort out patterns first, they could just go for it.

Somehow he did also manage to fall asleep like that. He had completely forgotten how comforting and good and safe this could feel.

He was unused to feeling these things. So, he found it equally as puzzling when they woke him up after they had finished and were happy to repeat the process again the next night.

The reason why he suddenly felt so comfortable and safe with them hit him like a bolt of lightning. Even when his brother was on duty with Hell and babysitting him, Amenadiel never did anything like this for him. Never even mentioned it. Amenadiel had others he could have gone to after all, so why bother him about it.

Somewhere along the line of a day, he had gone from being independent, to being one of a unit.

In the matter of a few hours, he had attached himself to two humans and made them flock. And they probably had no idea what that even meant to him.

Oh, Dad help him.


End file.
